Public in dark over PCC role
AN ELECTIONS watchdog has claimed that voters lacked awareness of the role undertaken by police and crime commissioners (PCC) following elections earlier this year.
The Electoral Commission (EC) has published a report on the administration of the 2016 PCC and local government elections which happened in May.
Labour’s David Keane was declared Cheshire’s PCC following an election count held at the Select Security Stadium in Widnes, replacing Conservative John Dwyer.
Though the report does not discuss the Cheshire event specifically, it concludes that the elections across England and Wales were well run.
An EC spokeswoman said that residents were confident in the voting process and were satisfied with the process for registering to vote
However, she also said that voters reported a lack of awareness about the role of the PCCs and what the elections were, including a lack of information about the candidates.
The EC has previously called on the Government to amend the legislation to allow a candidate information booklet to be sent to all households in each police force area before PCC elections.
The EC’s director of electoral administration, Andrew Scallan CBE, said: “Voters have consistently told us that they do not have the information they need ahead of these elections to make an informed decision about who to vote for.
“This is a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed, which is why we continue to recommend that provision is made for candidate information to be sent to every household as happens at elections for local authority executive mayors.”
The elections watchdog is continuing to support the recommendation of sending out candidate information booklets.
The EC said that in the 2020 elections, in which polls will be combined, voters in some areas would be faced with several ballot papers using differing voting systems.
The EC spokeswoman said: “This will present significant challenges for voters, candidates and campaigners, and electoral administrators, and advance planning by all those involved in the management and delivery of the polls will be crucial.”
The watchdog is recommending that the Government should immediately begin the necessary analysis and consultation on the risks of holding different polls on the same day, including giving consideration to the potential for changing the date of elections.